Tom wrote:

Harold and Susan Vordos wrote:


"wayne mak" wrote in message
...


And now I see 10EE selling for $1500. There are MANY great machines made
that will do better work than most of us will ever need.


Had the government not invested in so many of them, I don't think the market
would be flooded with them as it is. Back in the late 50's an EE cost
right at $10,000, which was roughly the same price as a modest home.
Later years, they got up to $90,000. Worth every penny, assuming you had a
need for that level of quality. Understand that they are not to be
classified with other machines, aside from maybe the Rivett, about which
Gunner spoke. Unless you've operated one, you can't begin to understand
the differences, nor how the differences affect the operator. I honestly
feel that running an EE was the turning point in my learning curve, which
had suffered considerably for several months.

Harold



But hardly the best lathe ever, Harold, for their size, perhaps.
This from a Monarch owner! But a 10EE was a creation of the
early 40s and apart from changes to the electronic drive did
not alter much mechanically over the years of production, something
shared by South Bend to their detriment.

I would say a late tool room lathe by VDF-Boehringer would have
been the pinnacle of lathe design & manufacture..


Could you compare that to a late-model Sheldon R15? The ones made later
than 1972 or so were REALLY advanced, both in the headstock and carriage
areas. They had all sorts of features to improve precision, remove
vibration
and keep tolerances of one part from affecting another section of the
machine.
I've crowed about all this previously, so don't want to bore people. I know
something about Mori-Seiki machines, but I'm not familiar with the VDF.
Anyway, I've been astounded a few times with my Sheldon at how rigid and
vibration-free it is, even under heavy loads.

Jon